childish squabbling right out of your minds.”
I was burning up with curiosity, but I couldn’t think of a good excuse for sticking around when Hyacinth was so eager to see us go. Reluctantly, I let her escort me toward the foyer. It wasn’t until I was alone with Gabriel and trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened that I realized I owed Primrose and Cleveland a debt of gratitude.
Thanks to their argument, Pastor Rod had forgotten all about praying for our fake marriage.
Eleven
“I knew it!” I kept my voice low to prevent being overheard, and tugged Gabriel toward the stairs. “This Monroe guy has some connection to the people here.”
“Yeah. But for the record, I’m convinced they’re all loony tunes.”
I laughed and started up the staircase. “Can we see the garage from our window? I want to watch for Monroe to start working on the van. Maybe we can catch him alone.”
“Maybe I can catch him alone,” Gabriel said. “I don’t know what’s going on with these people, but I don’t want you in the middle of it.”
I stopped walking and whipped around to face him. “You’re kidding, right? They’re not going to hurt anyone. They’re . . . old ! And besides, I wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t gotten me involved. You don’t get to come riding in on your white horse to save me.”
He glanced over his shoulder to make sure we were still alone. “That was before I met these people. Be a sport. Go on up to the room. I’ll go outside and wait for Monroe.”
“Not on your life.” For the third time in an hour my cell phone buzzed, and this time I welcomed the interruption. I fished it out of my pocket just as the first notes of “Rhapsody in Blue” played, signaling a call from one of Zydeco’s staff. I checked the screen, saw that the call was from Estelle Jergens, one of my decorators, and waved the phone in front of me. “Sorry. Business. Very important. You go on up. I’ll join you when I’m through.” I dashed past him and out the front door before he could stop me.
Getting a call from Estelle didn’t really surprise me. She’s the oldest staff member at Zydeco and the one I’d vote Most Likely to Panic in a Crisis. I’d have an easier time dealing with whatever was bothering her without Gabriel to distract me. But that was only part of the reason I’d bolted for the door. If Gabriel thought I was going to sit upstairs reading a book while he had all the fun, he was crazier than the residents of the Love Nest.
As soon as I stepped outside, the sounds and smells of the neighborhood hit me and reminded me where I was. A group of young people strolled past the inn, laughing and joking with each other. A couple of young men with loose-hipped walks went by, each with an arm slung around the shoulders of a foul-mouthed girlfriend. Lights and music spilled into the night from the tattoo parlor down the street, and rap music thumped rhythmically from passing cars.
In spite of my tough-girl talk earlier, I felt slightly uneasy in this neighborhood. I slipped into the shadows of the porch so I wouldn’t be visible from the street and answered the call. “Estelle? What’s up?”
“Rita? Oh thank God. I was starting to worry. I’ve been calling and calling, but it kept going straight to voice mail.”
I was a little out of breath, but I think I managed to sound normal. “That’s because I’m taking some time off,” I said patiently. “If you have a problem at work while I’m away, you might get a quicker response if you call Ox.”
Estelle laughed nervously. “Yeah. I know.” She took a couple of raspy breaths and then said, “Look, Rita, I really hate to bother you, but I thought you needed to know about what happened this afternoon.”
I didn’t say anything for a moment. If there was trouble at Zydeco, she was right that I should know about it. Then again, I wanted the staff to understand that I trusted Ox and they didn’t need to run to me with
I was burning up with curiosity, but I couldn’t think of a good excuse for sticking around when Hyacinth was so eager to see us go. Reluctantly, I let her escort me toward the foyer. It wasn’t until I was alone with Gabriel and trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened that I realized I owed Primrose and Cleveland a debt of gratitude.
Thanks to their argument, Pastor Rod had forgotten all about praying for our fake marriage.
Eleven
“I knew it!” I kept my voice low to prevent being overheard, and tugged Gabriel toward the stairs. “This Monroe guy has some connection to the people here.”
“Yeah. But for the record, I’m convinced they’re all loony tunes.”
I laughed and started up the staircase. “Can we see the garage from our window? I want to watch for Monroe to start working on the van. Maybe we can catch him alone.”
“Maybe I can catch him alone,” Gabriel said. “I don’t know what’s going on with these people, but I don’t want you in the middle of it.”
I stopped walking and whipped around to face him. “You’re kidding, right? They’re not going to hurt anyone. They’re . . . old ! And besides, I wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t gotten me involved. You don’t get to come riding in on your white horse to save me.”
He glanced over his shoulder to make sure we were still alone. “That was before I met these people. Be a sport. Go on up to the room. I’ll go outside and wait for Monroe.”
“Not on your life.” For the third time in an hour my cell phone buzzed, and this time I welcomed the interruption. I fished it out of my pocket just as the first notes of “Rhapsody in Blue” played, signaling a call from one of Zydeco’s staff. I checked the screen, saw that the call was from Estelle Jergens, one of my decorators, and waved the phone in front of me. “Sorry. Business. Very important. You go on up. I’ll join you when I’m through.” I dashed past him and out the front door before he could stop me.
Getting a call from Estelle didn’t really surprise me. She’s the oldest staff member at Zydeco and the one I’d vote Most Likely to Panic in a Crisis. I’d have an easier time dealing with whatever was bothering her without Gabriel to distract me. But that was only part of the reason I’d bolted for the door. If Gabriel thought I was going to sit upstairs reading a book while he had all the fun, he was crazier than the residents of the Love Nest.
As soon as I stepped outside, the sounds and smells of the neighborhood hit me and reminded me where I was. A group of young people strolled past the inn, laughing and joking with each other. A couple of young men with loose-hipped walks went by, each with an arm slung around the shoulders of a foul-mouthed girlfriend. Lights and music spilled into the night from the tattoo parlor down the street, and rap music thumped rhythmically from passing cars.
In spite of my tough-girl talk earlier, I felt slightly uneasy in this neighborhood. I slipped into the shadows of the porch so I wouldn’t be visible from the street and answered the call. “Estelle? What’s up?”
“Rita? Oh thank God. I was starting to worry. I’ve been calling and calling, but it kept going straight to voice mail.”
I was a little out of breath, but I think I managed to sound normal. “That’s because I’m taking some time off,” I said patiently. “If you have a problem at work while I’m away, you might get a quicker response if you call Ox.”
Estelle laughed nervously. “Yeah. I know.” She took a couple of raspy breaths and then said, “Look, Rita, I really hate to bother you, but I thought you needed to know about what happened this afternoon.”
I didn’t say anything for a moment. If there was trouble at Zydeco, she was right that I should know about it. Then again, I wanted the staff to understand that I trusted Ox and they didn’t need to run to me with
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